Jack stick and strap arrangement



June 1, 1965 G. F. LEAGUE JACK STICK AND STRAP ARRANGEMENT Filed Feb.

INVENTOR. GEORGE FRANK LEAGUE- United States Patent O 3,186,440 JACK STICK AND STRAP ARRANGEMENT George Frank League, Greenville, S.C., assignor to G. F. League Manufacturing Company, Greenville, S.C., a corporation of South Carolina Filed Feb. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 343,004 4 Claims. (Cl. 139-88) This invention relates generally to improved means for interconnecting the harnesses and treadles of a loom and more particularly to an improved jack stick and strap arrangement whereby the jack stick strap is positively secured to the jack stick in a plurality of various positions so that a single type of jack stick may be utilized in any treadle position on a loom.

The present invention constitutes an improvement over applicants previous Patent No. 3,053,284, issued September 11, 1962. This previous patent was animprovement over prior jack sticks wherein it was conventional to have a different jack stick for each treadle position of the loom.

While the jack stick and strap arrangement disclosed in applicants prior Patent No. 3,053,284 represents a novel solution to the problems encountered with prior jack sticks, and has been extremely successful, the present jack stick and strap arrangement represents an even more novel and successful solution to these problems. In this respect, the jack stick strap of the present jack stick and strap arrangement may be more quickly and easily adjusted between the various positions along the jack stick which correspond to the various treadles of the loom. Also, the present jack stick and strap arrangement has a longer effective life than previous arrangements.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved jack stick and strap arrangement for connecting the harnesses and treadles on a loom wherein the jack straps are positively secured in any one of various positions along the jack sticks and may be more quickly and easily removed between the various positions than has been previously possible.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved jack stick for use with a jack stick strap to interconnect a harness and treadle of a loom wherein retractable means are provided at a plurality of positions along the jack stick for positively locking a jack strap in any one of a plurality of positions while presenting a relatively smooth exterior surface.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the central portion of a loom illustrating the instant jack stick and strap arrangement for interconnecting harnesses and treadles thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric view of a medial portion of one of the jack sticks shown in FIGURE 1 and showing a jack strap locked in adjusted position thereon;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the retractable means shown in the upper medial portion of FIGURE 3. 7

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a portion of a loom which includes a plurality of harnesses 10 with corresponding treadles 11 positioned therebelow. The loom has a front girt 12 on which is mounted a treadle shaft bracket 13. A treadle shaft 14 is carried by bracket 13 and oscillatably supports the forward ends of the treadles 11. Spaced apart middle girts 16, 17 are See suitably supported at their forward ends on the front girt 12 and at their rear ends on a back girt 18.

Bearings 20, 21 are respectively supported on middle girts 16 and 17 and journal opposite ends of a harness cam shaft 22 for rotation therein. A drive gear 23 is drivingly mounted on shaft 22 for imparting rotation thereto from a drive means (not shown). A plurality of harness earns 24 are mounted on shaft 22 for rotation therewith and operatively engage treadles 11 for oscillating the same in timed relation to the operation of the loom.

A plurality of jack straps are broadly indicated at and include hook portions 31 connected at their lower ends to the treadles 11 and strap portions 32 pivotally connected to hook portions 31 and encircling a medial portion of corresponding elongate jack sticks 33. Hook portions 31 include a turnbuckle type of adjusting means 31a for adjusting the length thereof. Strap portions 32 each comprise an inverted U-shaped member having spaced legs 32a, 3211 connected at their upper ends by a bight portion 320. Legs 32a, 32b have inwardly converging portions 32a, 32b therein at a point spaced downwardly from bight portion 32c a distance substantially the same as the vertical dimension of the medial portion of a jack stick 33. Also, bight portion 320 has a length substantially the same as the thickness of the medial portion of a jack stick 33 whereby strap portion 32 tightly encircles the medial portion of a jack stick to prevent any vertical or horizontal movement thereof laterally of the jack stick while permitting longitudinal adjustment in a manner to be described.

The lower ends of legs 32a, 32b straddle the upper end of hook portion 31 and are pivotally connected thereto as by a rivet 34. Also, bight portion 320 of each strap portion 32 has an opening 35 therein.

Each jack stick 33 has opposite ends thereof connected to opposite ends of a harness 10 by hooks 36 and has a plurality of openings 37 therein at spaced apart locations in the medial portion thereof above treadles 11. A retractable means 40 is mounted in each of the openings 37 in jack sticks 33 and comprises a holder member 41 which has a cylindrical body portion 42 closed at the bottom and open at the top. It is noted that the side wall of body portion 42 converges slightly at the open upper end whereby the open top of the body portion is of lesser diameter than the remainder thereof. Holder member 41 also has an annular horizontal flange 43 at the upper end of body portion 42 and which has a larger outside diameter than the diameter of openings 37 in the jack sticks.

A detent plunger 44 of generally semi-spheroidal or bullet shape is mounted in holder member 41 and has the lower portion thereof of substantially the same diameter as body portion 42 below the open top thereof of cylindrical side wall 42b whereby the converging portion of the side wall retains plunger 44 within holder member 41. The upper portion of plunger 44 normally protrudes upwardly beyond annular flange 43 and is biased toward this position by a compression spring 45 disposed in body portion 42 below plunger 44.

In operation, when it is desired to secure one of the strap portions 32 of jack straps 30 to a jack stick 33, the jack stick is positioned therewithin by placing the strap portion over one end of the jack stick and sliding the jack strap longitudinally of the jack stick until the first retractable means 40 is reached. The detent plunger 44 thereof is pressed downwardly to an inoperative position wherein the same is below annular flange 43 and the strap portion 32 is then moved longitudinally of the jack stick until opening 35 therein is disposed above plunger 44. Spring 45 then snaps plunger 44 into this opening 35 and positively locks strap portion 32 in this position.

When it is desired to reposition the jack strap 30, it is only necessary to press plunger 44 downwardly to retracted position and to move the jack strap longitudinally of the jack stick until the opening 35 in the strap portion is disposed above the desired retractable means 40.

generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. -A jack stick and strap arrangement for interconnecting harnesses and treadles on a loom comprising (a) a plurality of elongate jack sticks adapted to be connected at opposite ends to corresponding harnesses of a loom,

(b) a plurality of vertically disposed jack straps adapted to be connected at their lower ends to treadles of a loom and including strap portions at their upper ends which closely encircle medial portions of said jack sticks, each of said strap portions having an opening therein, and

(c) a plurality of retractable means positioned at longitudinally spaced-apart positions in the medial portion of each of said jack sticks and including portions normally disposed in the openings in said strap portions of said jack straps to positively lock the jack straps in adjusted position on the jack sticks, said portions of said retractable means being accessible through and readily depressible out of said openings to permit the jack straps to be moved longitudinally of the jack sticks to another adjusted position.

2. A jack stick and strapfarrangement according to claim 1 wherein said strap portions of said jack straps comprise generally inverted U-shaped members having bight portions engaging the upper surfaces of said jack sticks and leg portions formed integral therewith and extending downwardly therefrom on opposite sides of the jack sticks and in contiguous relation thereto, said leg portions converging immediately below the jack sticks, and wherein said openings in the strap portions are in the bight portions thereof and said retractable means are positioned in the upper surfaces of the medial portions of said jack sticks.

3. A jack stick and strap arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said retractable means comprises a holder member embedded in said jack stick, a plunger mounted in said holder member and having a portion normally protruding therefrom, said plunger being depressible from the normal position to retract said portion thereof into said holder member, and spring means disposed within said holder member below said'plunger for biasing said plunger toward said normal position.

4. A jack stick and strap arrangement for interconnecting harnesses and treadles on a loom comprising (a) a plurality of elongate jack sticks adapted to be connected at opposite ends to corresponding harnesses ,of a loom and each having a plurality of longitudinallyspaced openings inthe upper surface of the medial portion thereof at positions corresponding to thetreadle positions ona loom,

(b) a vertically disposed jack strap for each elongate jack stick and comprising a hook portion at its lower end adapted to be connected to a treadle of the loom, and a strap portion at its upper end, said strap portion comprising an inverted U-shaped member having spaced apart legs straddling the medial portion of a jack stick in contiguous relation thereto and a bight portion formed integrally with and connecting the upper ends of said leg portions and engaging the upper surface of said jack stick, said leg portions converging immediately below the medial portion of said jack stick whereby said strap portion closely encircles said jack stick to prevent lateral movement of the strap portion relative to the jack stick, said bight portion having an opening therein adapted to overlie one of the openings in said jack stick, and

(c) retractable means positioned in each opening in each of said jack sticks and each including a holder member, a plunger mounted in said holder member and having a portion normally protruding therefrom above the upper surface of said jack stick and adapted to be positioned in the opening in said bight portion of a jack strap, said plunger being depressible downwardly from the normal position to retract said portion thereof into said holder member to permit the jack strap to be moved to another adjusted position, and spring means disposed Within said holder member below said plunger and biasing said plunger toward said normal position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,284,361 5/42 Biletz 312-286 2,385,709 '9/45 Johnston 24238 2,601,926 7/52 Speaker et a1. 2l1ll3 2,951,507 9/60 McGuire et al. l3988 3,053,284 9/62 League 13988 DONALD w. PARKER, Primary Examiner, 

1. A JACK STICK AND STRAP ARRANGEMENT FOR INTERCONNECTING HARNESS AND TREADLES ON A LOOM COMPRISING (A) A PLURALITY OF ELONGATE JACK STICKS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED AT OPPOSITE ENDS TO CORRESPONDING HARNESSES OF A LOOM, (B) A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY DISPOSED JACK STRAPS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS TO TREADLES OF A LOOM AND INCLUDING STRAP PORTIONS AT THEIR UPPER ENDS WHICH CLOSELY ENCIRCLE MEDIAL PORTIONS OF SAID JACK STICKS, EACH OF SAID STRAP PORTIONS HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN, AND (C) A PLURALITY OF RETRACTABLE MEANS POSITIONED AT LONGTUDINALLY SPACED APART POSITONS IN THE MEDIAL PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID JACK STICKS AND INCLUDING PORTIONS NORMALLY DISPOSED IN THE OPENINGS IN SAID STRAP PORTIONS OF SAID JACK STRAPS TO POSITIVELY LOCK THE JACK STRAPS IN ADJUSTED POSITION ON THE JACK STICKS, SAID PORTIONS OF SAID RETRACTABLE MEANS BEING ACCESSIBLE THROUGH AND READILY DEPRESSIBLE OUT OF SAID OPENINGS TO PERMIT THE JACK STRAPS TO BE MOVED LONGITUDINALLY OF THE JACK STICKS TO ANOTHER ADJUSTED POSITION. 